This invention relates generally to turbine engines, and, more particularly, to methods and apparatus for manufacturing turbine engine components.
Known turbine engines include a compressor for compressing air which is suitably mixed with a fuel and channeled to a combustor wherein the mixture is ignited for generating hot combustion gases. The gases are channeled to a turbine, which extracts energy from the combustion gases for powering the compressor, as well as producing useful work for propelling an aircraft in flight and for powering a load, such as an electrical generator.
To shield components from the high temperatures generated within the engine, at least some known components exposed to the gas flow path are coated with a metal coating, such as a thermal barrier coating (TBC). More specifically, thermal barrier coating is typically applied with a spraying process, and often only after the components have been grit blasted. However, the application of thermal barrier coating may actually adversely affect or limit the performance of some components exposed to the gas flow path, such as, for example, seal teeth used with rotating seal assemblies.
To ensure that metal coating is not applied to such components, at least some spraying processes require that such components are masked prior to the metal coating being applied, and then unmasked after the metal coating has been applied. More specifically, such components are typically masked using a durable adhesive-backed tape, such as glass-filled masking tape. However, such a process may be a time-consuming and labor-intensive task. Furthermore, generally the tape is not reusable after being removed from the components.